The Laws of Rosh Hashanah

This article is
a guide to the laws that are specific to Rosh Hashanah. For a general guide to
the laws pertaining to all holidays (for example, the laws of cooking and
carrying), see Laws of Yom Tov.

Most of us think of Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New
Year, as a very serious day—the day on which we proclaim G‑d as King of the
universe as He sits in judgment of the world and its inhabitants. And yet, Rosh
Hashanah is also a joyous holiday, since we have faith that G‑d will grant us a
sweet new year. These two ideas are expressed in the different laws and customs
of Rosh Hashanah.

Selichot

With the new year rapidly approaching, our preparations
for the High Holidays move into high gear. Several days before Rosh Hashanah,
we begin to recite the Selichot—a collection of penitential prayers and
liturgy—before the morning prayers.

According to Ashkenazic custom, the first Selichot are
recited after “halachic midnight” on the Saturday night preceding Rosh Hashanah.
Since a minimum of four days of Selichot must be observed, if the first day of
Rosh Hashanah falls on Monday or Tuesday evening, we begin reciting Selichot on
the previous Saturday night. Following the Saturday night service, Selichot are
recited daily before morning prayers until Rosh Hashanah (except on Shabbat).

Sephardim recite Selichot throughout the entire month of
Elul.

Selichot are
meant to be recited with a minyan. Why is that? First of all, we are assured
that any prayers recited with a minyan are not turned away by G‑d.1 However, there is another
reason that is unique to Selichot:

At the heart of
Selichot are the Thirteen Divine Attributes of Mercy, which G‑d taught Moses as
a tool to obtain divine forgiveness. According to the Talmud, G‑d revealed the
Thirteen Attributes while “wrapped in a tallit, like a cantor leading the
congregation.”2 Therefore, they are
considered davar sheb’kedusha, “words
of holiness,” which are said only with a “congregation,” i.e., a minyan, just
like Kaddish.3

What if you
cannot make it to a minyan? In that case, you can still say Selichot on your
own, but whether or not you say the Thirteen Attributes depends on your custom.
Many have the custom to recite the Thirteen Attributes using the tune for Torah
reading, as if they are reading the verses and not “praying” them.4 The Chabad custom, however,
is to omit the section of the Thirteen Attributes completely when praying
alone.5 Additionally, when praying
alone, the custom is to omit the Aramaic passages in the Selichot.6

Erev Rosh
Hashanah

On the day before Rosh Hashanah, Selichot are again recited in the early
hours of the morning. The Selichot for Erev Rosh Hashanah are significantly
longer than the Selichot of the previous days.

Morning Services

Regular weekday prayers are said; however, as is the
case on the eve of all holidays, tachnunis
omitted (it is, however, recited as part of the Selichot prayers).7

No Shofar

While the custom is to blow the shofar during the rest of the month of Elul, the shofar is not blown on Erev Rosh
Hashanah,8 since we want to separate the shofar blasts of the month of Elul—which
are a custom—from the blowing of the shofar
on Rosh Hashanah, which is a biblically ordained mitzvah.9

Hatarat Nedarim

In order that we begin the Day of Judgment and the
new year free from the sin
of unfulfilled vows, there is a custom to convene a Beit Din (a rabbinical
court) after morning prayers to perform the Hatarat Nedarim ceremony and annul
the vows we may have accidentally made during the course of the past year. A
Beit Din consists of a minimum of three adult males, plus the petitioner.10 However, many, including
Chabad, have the custom for ten people to sit on the Beit Din, as this is
considered a court with stronger authority.11

Unlike the members of a regular Beit Din, the
members of the Hatarat Nedarim Beit Din may be related to one another and do
not need rabbinic qualifications.12

Hatarat Nedarim
needs to be said in a language that is understood by both the petitioner and
the court.13

During the Hatarat Nedarim procedure, four (or eleven14) men convene. One of them
stands up and faces the remaining panel of "judges," who are seated,
and asks them to annul his vows, which they do. That person is then seated,
becoming part of the panel, and the next individual asks for annulment. This
continues until all have had their vows annulled. (You can find the text for
Hatarat Nedarim in the Tehillat Hashemsiddurp. 358).

The widespread custom is that women do not do Hatarat
Nedarim on the eve of Rosh Hashanah. (However, a women
may appoint her husband to annul her vows along with his own. In this case, the
husband should inform the court that he is seeking to nullify his wife’s vows
together with his own.15)

Women can annul their vows by saying Kol Nidrei on Yom
Kippur along with the chazzan, since the Kol Nidrei prayer is also about
annulling vows.16

Except for a husband acting on behalf of his wife, a
messenger cannot be used to annul vows for someone else.17

Shemittah Year
and the Pruzbul

In a Shemittah year (the Sabbatical year that comes every
seven years), in addition to the agricultural restrictions that apply in Israel
, the observance of Shemittah includes the forgiving of all loans and
debts left unpaid at the conclusion of the Shemittah year.18 Even if a borrower wishes to
repay his debt, the lender may not accept it unless he reminds the borrower
that the debt has been cancelled.19

At the same
time, the Torah forbids us to refrain from lending money for fear of Shemittah canceling the loan, and commands us to
lend happily, despite the possibility that we may not be paid back.

When Hillel the
Elder saw that the wealthy were avoiding giving loans as the Shemittah year
approached, depriving the poor of desperately needed money, he came up with a
novel idea. Based on the premise that only private debts are cancelled by Shemittah, and that Shemittah nowadays is only a rabbinic injunction, Hillel instituted the
"pruzbul," which is a
mechanism by which debts are transferred to the Jewish court, thereby making the debts public and
not subject to cancellation by Shemittah.20

Customs vary as
to when one should make a pruzbul.
Technically, loans are cancelled only at the end of the Shemittah year. However, once the Shemittah year begins, a lender may not demand
payment of a loan. For this reason, many people, including those following the
Chabad custom, make a pruzbul on the
eve of Rosh Hashanah, before the onset of
the seventh year.21 Others have the custom of
making it at the end of the Shemittah year,
which is when the loans are cancelled.22
Yet others try to do it twice—at the beginning and at the end of the Shemittah year—which was the practice of the Rebbe, of righteous
memory.23

To make a pruzbul, the lender stands in front of a Jewish court and releases
his loans to them, saying:

הריני מוסר לכם כל החובות שיש לי, שאגבה אותם כל זמן שארצה

“I give over to you [the Beit Din] all
debts which I have, so that I may collect them any time I wish.”

Since a Jewish
court is needed in order to make a pruzbul,
the custom is to do it right after Hatarat Nedarim, because a Jewish court has
already been convened.

The Rebbe
suggested that even if no one owes you any money, you should lend out a small
amount of money in order to make the pruzbul.24

Other Customs

Many men have the custom to immerse in the mikvah
before Rosh Hashanah in order to enter the new year in added holiness.25

Cemetery

There is a custom to visit the cemetery on Rosh
Hashanah eve, especially the graves of the righteous, and ask G‑d to forgive us
in their merit.26

Fasting

Some have the custom to fast on the eve of Rosh
Hashanah (at least part of the day), if fasting will not cause them any
weakness.27

Tehillim/Psalms

We try to minimize frivolity and use any free time
for the recitation of Psalms on the day before Rosh Hashanah, and especially
during the two days of Rosh Hashanah itself.2829

First Night of
Rosh Hashanah

Candle-Lighting

To usher in the Yom Tov, women (or men, when living
in an all-male household) light candles on the first and second evenings of
Rosh Hashanah.

As with other holidays, one may transfer fire from a
pre-existing flame on Rosh Hashanah, provided that Rosh Hashanah does not fall
out on Shabbat. Therefore, before the onset of the holiday, make sure that you
have a flame burning that will last throughout the holiday, such as a burner or
candle, for the second night of candle-lighting and for cooking. (For more on
this, see
Laws of Yom Tov.)

Extinguishing a
fire is not permitted on Yom Tov, so after you’ve lit the candles, let the
match burn out on its own.

After lighting the candles, we recite the following
special blessings.

Ba-ruch A-tah . . . asher ki-deshanu . . . le-hadlik
ner shel Yom Hazikaron.
“Blessed are
You, L‑rd our G‑d, King of the universe, who has sanctified us with His
commandments and has commanded us to light the candle of the Day of
Remembrance.”

Ba-ruch A-tah….. she-heche-ya-nu ve-ki-yi-ma-nu
ve-higi-a-nu liz-man ha-zeh.
“Blessed are
You, Lord our G‑d, King of the universe, who has granted us life, sustained us,
and enabled us to reach this occasion.”

On the first night, we light candles before sunset,
and on the second night, after nightfall. If you didn’t have a chance to light
before sunset on the first night, you may light after sunset, provided that you
use a pre-existing flame.

There are many additional prayers on Rosh Hashanah,
which you will find in your machzor.
The Amidah (“The Standing Prayer”) that we say between Rosh Hashanah and Yom
Kippur also has some small changes:

At
the end of the third blessing, instead of ending with the words “ha-El hakodosh,” “the holy G‑d,” we end
with “hamelech hakodosh,” “the holy
king.”30
What happens if you forget and say “ha-El
hakodosh” as usual? If you realize your mistake right away, just correct
yourself and say “hamelech hakodosh.”
If you’ve already started the next blessing, you need to restart the Amidah.

In the first blessing, we add, “Zochreinu L’chaim . . .” - "Remember us for life, King who
delights in life; and inscribe us in the book of life, for Your sake, living
God."

In the second, we add, “Mi kamocha . . ." - “Who is like You, merciful Father, who in
compassion remembers His creatures for
life."

In the second-to-last blessing, we add, “U’kesov L’chaim . . .” - “And inscribe all
the children of Your covenant for good
life.”

In the last benediction, we add, “U’besefer Chaim . . .” - “May we be remembered and inscribed before
You in the book of life, of blessing, of peace and of good sustenance."31

Instead of saying “oseh sholom” at the end of the Amidah and Kaddish, we say “oseh hasholom.”32

If one omitted any of the above changes (besides for
hamelech), one does not have to
repeat the Amidah.

During Kaddish, after the word “l’eila,” many have the custom to add the word “u’l’eila,” referring to G‑d as “above and beyond blessings, praises, etc.”;33
the Chabad custom is to only do so in the Kaddish of Neilah on Yom Kippur.34

After services
on the first night of Rosh Hashanah, it is traditional to greet males with “Leshanah tovah tikatev v’tichatem” (לשנה טובה תכתב ותחתם) and females with “Leshanah
tovah tikatevee v’tichatemee” (לשנה טובה תכתבי
ותחתמי), meaning, “May you be
written and sealed for a good year.”35

After the first
night, we no longer wish each other this specific blessing, since we assume
that our fellow has already been inscribed for a good year right at the start
of the holiday. Instead, you can simply wish others a good year, or “Gemar chatima tovah” (גמר חתימה טובה), “A
good ‘final sealing.’”

We begin the meal with the holiday kiddush over
wine, followed by the shehecheyanublessing
(see “Candle-Lighting” above). If the same person is both lighting the candles
and making kiddush, he or she does not repeat the blessing of shehecheyanu during kiddush.

Meal

In many instances in the Bible, when G‑d reveals a
prophecy to a person, He then tells the prophet to perform a physical sign
(e.g. Ezekiel was commanded to make a model of the future Temple), thus
ensuring that the prophecy will be actualized not just in the spiritual realms,
but in the physical as well. Similarly, on the first night of Rosh Hashanah, we eat several foods
which symbolize the type of year we wish to have.36

After washing for bread and making the blessing on
the challah, the custom is to dip the challah into honey instead of salt (some
do it in addition to salt).37
The Chabad custom is to continue to dip the challah into honey for all Shabbat
and holiday meals through Hoshanah Rabbah.38

At the start of the meal, we dip a piece of sweet apple
into honey.39 Before eating it, we make
the blessing ha’etz over the apple
and then add:40

Ye-hi ratzon
she-ti-cha-desh alei-nu shanah tovah u-m'tu-kah.

“May it be Your will to renew for us a good and sweet
year.”

A head of a ram,41
fish or other kosher animal is served. This symbolizes our desire to be a
"head and not a tail.”42

A pomegranate is also eaten, symbolizing our wish to have
a year full of mitzvahs and good deeds, as a pomegranate is filled with
luscious seeds.43 (Although the
official Rosh Hashanah new fruit is eaten on the second night, if one has not
had any of the symbolic fruits, such as the pomegranate, the entire season, he
should recite the shecheyanublessing
on the fruit.44)

In addition to those foods mentioned, it is customary that
throughout the meal, we eat foods whose names in the vernacular allude to
blessing and prosperity. For example, many have the custom of eating a carrot
dish, because in Yiddish the word for “carrots,” “meren,” means “to multiply.”

Sour or Bitter
foods

Throughout Rosh Hashanah, many have the custom to refrain
from eating foods which are sour, bitter or tart. Instead, the focus is on
sweet foods, symbolizing our desire to have a sweet year, blessings and
abundance.45 Therefore, the custom is to
not prepare dishes that taste vinegary or lemony.46

Oh, Nuts

It is customary not to eat nuts on Rosh Hashanah. Why?

One reason is that nuts tend to increase saliva in your
mouth, making prayer difficult.47 Another reason is that the
numerical equivalent of the Hebrew word for "nut," “egoz,” is seventeen. Seventeen is also
the numerical equivalent of the Hebrew word for “sin,” “chet,”48 and on Rosh Hashanah we
want to stay far away from anything reminiscent of sin.49

Every moment of Rosh Hashanah is precious, so you want to
use them all to the fullest. Spend any extra time in prayer—especially reciting
psalms. This time is so special that we even try to minimize our sleep and
avoid frivolous talk and activity.50

Second Night of Rosh Hashanah

Since one is not allowed to prepare for the second day of Yom Tov on the first day, all preparations for the second day, including candle-lighting, should be done after nightfall.

New Fruit

Usually when a holiday is two days long, we recite the blessing of shehecheyanu, thanking G‑d for reaching this special occasion, at the onset of each day of the holiday. After all, the reason the holiday is two days long is that, due to the way the new months were sanctified in ancient times, we were unsure of which day was really the first day of the holiday (for more on this, see Why are holidays celebrated an extra day in the Diaspora?)

However, with regard to the two days of Rosh Hashanah, even in ancient times in Israel they kept the holiday for two days. Therefore, the Talmud tells us that the entire Rosh Hashanah is considered to be one long holiday.51 Based on this, there is a minority opinion which holds that one should not make a shehecheyanu on the second night.

Therefore, to accommodate this opinion, it is customary that on the second night of Rosh Hashanah, a "new fruit," i.e., a seasonal fruit which we have not yet tasted since its season began, should be present on the table when the holiday candles are kindled and during kiddush. While reciting the shehecheyanu blessing after candle-lighting or kiddush, have the new fruit in mind.

Since the shehecheyanu we just said during kiddush applied to the fruit as well, we eat the fruit right after we sip the kiddush wine, even before washing for bread.52

Even if you cannot get a new fruit, you still recite shehecheyanu, since the halachah follows the majority opinion that shehecheyanu needs to be recited the second night as well.53

After eating the new fruit, if one ate the amount of a kezayit (a bit less than an ounce), an after-blessing is made, and then we wash our hands and eat the challah dipped in honey.

Many have the custom to eat the symbolic foods, such as the apple dipped in honey and the pomegranate, on the second night as well. While this is not a Chabad custom,54 there is no reason to specifically refrain from eating these foods if you like them.

Rosh Hashanah
Day

Prayers

Many have the custom not to eat anything before
hearing the shofar. If you feel weak
or fear that hunger will distract you from being able to pray properly, you may
eat or drink, but make sure not to have a meal55 (i.e.
don’t wash for bread or have more than two ounces of mezonot56).

Until the Shacharit Amidah, with a few notable
exceptions, the morning prayer is the same as every Shabbat and holiday. The
exceptions are:

Before
Borchu, instead of saying, “O king who sits on a lofty and sublime throne,” we
say, “The king is seated on a lofty . . .” The difference is that during the
year, we feel more distant, while on Rosh Hashanah, we understand that our King
is very near to us.

Right
before Borchu, from Rosh Hashanah through Yom Kippur, the custom is to recite
Psalm 130.

After
Borchu, if Rosh Hashanah is a weekday, we skip the special Shabbat readings in
which we exalt G‑d’s creating the world and resting on the Shabbat, and follow
the regular weekday routine.

From the Amidah and on, the Rosh Hashanah prayers
are very different than a normal Shabbat or holiday, so pay careful attention
to your machzor.

During the repetition of the Amidah, the Torah ark
is opened and closed for various parts of the prayer. If you aren’t too tired
or weak, it is preferable to stand while the ark is open.

Torah Reading

After the ark is opened, but before taking out the
Torah scrolls, the congregation recites the Thirteen Divine Attributes of Mercy
three times.

Two Torah scrolls are taken out. On the first day,
we read about the birth of Isaac, and on the second, about the Akeidah, the
binding of Isaac. In the second scroll, on both days, we read about the special offerings that were brought
on Rosh Hashanah.

The Haftorah
for the first day of Rosh Hashanah is from I Samuel 1:1–2:10, which describes the birth of the prophet
Samuel to Elkanah and his wife Chanah, who had been childless for many years.

The Haftorah
for the second day of Rosh Hashanah is from Jeremiah 31:1–19, which talks about
G‑d’s everlasting love for His people, and
the future ingathering of the exiles.

Shofar

After reading from the Torah and Haftorah, it’s time to get
ready for the mitzvah of the day: blowing of the shofar.

Before blowing the shofar
in the synagogue, the custom is to recite Psalm 47 seven times. Afterward, we
recite verses in the form of an acrostic that spells out the the words “kera Satan,” “rip the Satan,” the Heavenly prosecutor.

The entire congregation then listens as the shofar-blower recites the blessings.
When listening to the blessings, have in mind that these blessings should also
apply to the additional shofar blasts
during the Musaf prayer. In order to “connect” the blessings to the mitzvah
that follows, refrain from talking until the last shofar-blowing at the end of the Musaf prayers.

You need to hear the shofar
blasts, as do the people around you, so it is very important to remain silent
and listen carefully as the thirty shofar
blasts are blown.

After the blowing of the shofar,
the Torah scrolls are returned to the ark.

Musaf

The Talmud
tells us that on Rosh Hashanah, G‑d asks of us, “Say before Me [verses whose
themes are] sovereignty, remembrances and shofar.
Sovereignty, so that you should crown Me king over you; remembrances, so that I
should remember you for good; and with what? With a shofar.”57

Therefore, the
Musaf Amidah includes three special blessings: one about G‑d’s sovereignty; another about how He remembers His
creation; and a third about the power of the call of the shofar. Each blessing contains verses which follow the theme of
that blessing. After each one of these three blessings, we blow ten shofar blasts.58

In many
synagogues, during the silent Amidah, the chazzan bangs on the bimah to indicate that he reached the
end of one of the blessings, and then the shofar
is blown. If you are taking your time and are not yet up to that spot, pause
and listen silently to the shofar
blasts, and afterward continue with your prayers.59

If, for
whatever reason, you are praying without a minyan, do not blow the shofar after these blessings.60

These three
special blessings, together with the shofar
blasts, are repeated during the chazzan’s repetition of the Amidah. After the
repetition of the Amidah, it is customary to blow yet another ten blasts, for a
total of one hundred blasts. Additionally, Chabad has the custom to blow
another thirty blasts after the prayers have been concluded; however, you
should not be concerned if you miss those blasts, since you have already
fulfilled the mitzvah of hearing the shofar.

Kiddush and Festive Meal

After the
conclusion of the prayers, we go home and have a festive meal, certain that it
has been decreed that we will have a sweet new year.

“Sound the
shofar on the New Moon, on the appointed time for the day of our festival. For
it is a statute for Israel, the judgment of the G‑d of Jacob.”

After kiddush,
we wash and makehamotzi, and, as
mentioned earlier, the challah is dipped into honey.

Tashlich

On the first
day of Rosh Hashanah, after the afternoon prayer, we walk to a lake, river or
sea—preferably, a body of water that has fish—and recite the Tashlich prayers,
alluding to the verse “He shall return and grant us compassion; He shall hide
our iniquities, and You shall cast into the depths of the sea all their sins.”61

After the
Tashlich prayers are recited, it is customary for the men to shake the corners
of their tzitzit.62

If you will not
have time to do Tashlich after the afternoon prayers, you may do so beforehand.63 Additionally, if you missed
the opportunity to say Tashlich during Rosh Hashanah, you can do so until Yom
Kippur.64

Tashlich is not
recited on Shabbat; therefore, if the first day of Rosh Hashanah is Shabbat,
Tashlich is recited the second day.65

Shabbat Shuvah

The Shabbat
between Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur is called Shabbat Shuvah, “Shabbat of
Return,” because its special Haftorah reading begins with the words “Shuvah Yisrael,” "Return O
Israel," from the prophecy of Hoshea. It is also referred to as Shabbat
Shuvah because it falls during the Ten Days of Repentance (teshuvah, in Hebrew).

The prayer
service on this Shabbat is the same as on an ordinary Shabbat, with the
exception of the additions that are made to the Amidah throughout the Ten Days
of Repentance.

Tzom Gedaliah

After the Babylonians destroyed the Holy Temple in
Jerusalem and exiled many Jews in 3338 (423 BCE), they appointed Gedaliahben
Achikam as governor of the remaining Jews in the Holy Land. Tragically, he was
assassinated on Rosh Hashanah. In memory of Gedaliah’s death and its disastrous
aftermath, we fast every year on the 3rd of Tishrei, the day after Rosh
Hashanah. If the third of Tishrei falls out on Shabbat, the
fast is postponed to the 4th of Tishrei. Like other “minor” fasts, it begins at
dawn (alot hashachar) and ends at
nightfall.

During morning services, it is customary to add special
Selichot, penitential prayers. During both morning and afternoon prayers, the
Torah is taken out, and we read the portion from Exodus 32:11–14 and 34:1–10 in which G‑d forgives Israel for the sin of the
Golden Calf. During the afternoon prayers, we also read a Haftorah, from Isaiah 55:6–56:8.

As it is written in Zechariah 8:19, Tzom Gedaliah is one of the four
fasts that will be converted to joy and feasting with the arrival of Moshiach.
May it happen soon.

Our sages tell us that
angels don’t understand Aramaic. When praying with a minyan, our prayers bypass
the angels and ascend directly to heaven. However, when praying alone,
sometimes the angels are needed to help the prayers along to their final
destination. There are some sections of Selichot that are in Aramaic; as such,
when praying without a minyan, there are some who omit those sections. See
Talmud Shabbat 12b, Eliya Rabah 581:9, Mateh Efraim 581:21, Luach Kolel Chabad.

Shulchan Aruch, Orech
Chaim 581:3, Taz 4.
Another reason given for not
sounding the shofar on this day is
that we want to confuse Satan as he prepares his case against us for tomorrow's
Day of Judgment. The blowing of the shofar
is a great weapon in our arsenal, as it is symbolic of the horn of the ram that
was sacrificed instead of Isaac, and thus evokes the merit of our holy
Patriarchs and the sacrifices they made out of their deep love for G‑d. When Satan sees that we are so
confident that we will be victorious on the Day of Judgment that we don't even
find it necessary to sound the shofar,
he is utterly confounded and loses confidence in his carefully prepared case.
For more on this, see Shulchan
Aruch, ibid., Magen Avraham 14 and
Eliyahu Rabba, ibid.

Pri Eitz Chaim, Shaar Rosh Hashanah 1, Shalah Mesechet Yuma,
Mateh Efraim 581:49, Siddur Admur HaZakan. Some (see Mateh Efrayim and Elef
ha-Magen, ibid.) explain the reason
for 10 men is that vows that were undertaken during a dream can be annulled
only by 10 judges. The Chabad custom is to omit any mention of dreams during
Hatarat Nedarim. Nevertheless, there is still a custom to have a court of 10
people. The Lubavitcher Rebbe explains (see Likutei Sichot vol. 4, p 1332, fn. 3) that the
reason for having 10 on the Beit Din is because on Rosh Hashanah, the entire
world is renewed, and as a preparation for this, we try to rectify the “general
world.” This is done through the work of a complete congregation, i.e., a
minyan.

This follows the reasoning of the Mateh Ephraim in footnote
10. According to the reason for having 10 people given by the Lubavitcher Rebbe
in Likutei Sichot, it would seem that 10 altogether is enough (i.e., 9 on the
Beit Din, plus the person asking for annulment). See Siddur Admur Hazakan im
Tziunim Umareh Mekomot,p. 504.
However, the Rebbe himself did Hatarat Nedarim in front of 10 men excluding
himself. See Otzar Minhagei Chabad p.39.

See Shulchan
Aruch Harav, Orech Chaim 619:3, where it states that one can nullify vows by
reciting the Kol Nidrei together with the chazzan. See also Rabbi Shlomo Zalman
Auerbach, Halichot Shlomo 1:10, in which he advises women to recite Kol Nidrei
together with the chazzan in order to annul their vows.

In deference to the holy day of Rosh Hashanah, the Previous Lubavitcher Rebbe
also strongly encouraged those who smoked all year to refrain from smoking
during the two days of Rosh Hashanah. See Sefer Haminhagim Chabad.

Pri Etz Chaim, Shaar Tefilot Rosh
Hashanah, ch. 7. The Arizal explains that the words "oseh" and "hashalom"
each have the numerical value of 381, the same as the name Safriel (when
pronouncing, say "Safrikel," so as not to say G‑d’s Name in vain).
Safriel is the angel whose responsibility it is to record those deserving in
the Book of Life. By invoking this angel's name, we express our hope during
this time to be included in the Book of Life for the coming year.

Many have the
custom to recite the “yehi ratzon”
before the blessing (see Shulchan Aruch Harav, ibid.). See, however, Siddur Admur Hazakan; Sefer Haminhagim
Chabad; Igrot Kodesh, vol. 3, p. 140,
which explain the Chabad custom to recite the “yehi ratzon” after the blessing on the apple.

See Talmud, Beitzah 4b-5b. One application of this law is that normally an egg that was “born” on the first day of a holiday is permitted to be eaten on the second day, while on Rosh Hashanah, it is forbidden both days.

A noted scholar and researcher, Rabbi Yehuda Shurpin serves as content editor at Chabad.org, and writes the popular weekly Ask Rabbi Y column. Rabbi Shurpin is the rabbi of the Chabad Shul in St. Louis Park, Minn., where he resides with his wife, Ester, and their children.

Beautiful! Thank You!
What a clear, encompassing and insightful essay! Thank you. "Extinguishing a fire is not permitted on Yom Tov, so after you’ve lit the candles, let the match burn out on its own".... I think it's important to clarify that you would only be using a match on the first night. Also, could you please clarify what a "non-dependent" in Eruv Tavshilin is? Thanks again!
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